SteelSeries SteelSound 5H V2 Headset

Examination:

The original SteelSound 5H was SteelSeries' first shot at developing gaming headsets, and their efforts had proved to be a success but this second version of the 5H is designed to deliver on previous shortcomings. The design of the SteelSound 5H V2 headphones are fairly reminisces of the first design, but it does boast several improvements. The headphones themselves are completely black except for some silver trim on the cups of the headphones and on the band themselves.

One of the unique features about the SteelSound 5H V2 is that the headphones can actually disassemble! The headphones can easily pull apart into three sections (the headphone cups and then the top band), and then easily slide back together. Gold connections ensure a high quality signal is always passed. This design is terrific to see, considering that most gamers end up throwing all of their equipment into a single duffel bag or backpack when transporting their gear to and from LAN gaming events. This design should ensure that these headphones would not become damaged during transportation.

The microphone design for the SteelSound 5H V2 headphones is also very interesting. The microphone is retractable into the left headphone cup. This design allows you to not have your microphone out when not in use, but if you wish to, the microphone simply needs to be pulled. We are extremely fond of this design over the lapel products, or detachable microphones (such as those found on the recently reviewed Razer Barracuda HP-1 headset) that can easily be lost.

The headphone cups are extremely well padded, which make it comfortable to wear the SteelSound 5H V2 for hours on end. Other improvements in these second generation headphones is improved microphone quality, longer microphone cord, additional frame pressure, and other technical design improvements. These headphones are optimized for in-game sound frequencies (e.g. footsteps) in order to pinpoint the location of enemies and other objects. The cable length for the headphones is one meter, while the extension cable will add on another two meters. The frequency response for these headphones is from 16 to 28,000 Hz with a 40-Ohm impedance.